Lucky Charms
by Hunting4Harts
Summary: Dragonslayers ruin everything, or so the guild's newest members had said. Lucy knows for a fact that they're wrong... But the newbies have history, and they seem to know more than they're willing to say.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

Days: 382 and counting

* * *

They'd been walking forever, almost. The younger of the two was ready to keel over and sleep, right there in the middle of the cobbled road. His feet dragged through the slush on the ground and his dark hair hung limply against his forehead while his tummy grumbled.

The older of the two looked down at him and grabbed his gloved hand. Despite being the one who carried all their stuff (and him, at several points), aside from his bedroll, change of clothes and a bit of emergency cash, and having walked just as long as he had, she smiled at him. Her own footsteps were light, bouncing even, as they moved through the snow. "We're almost there."

And as soon as those words were said, they could see the roof of the building they were looking for. From there it was only a few more blocks to the front door.

Harumi fixed his mismatched eyes on the building and said, before his sister could push the door open, "…Jack, I don't think this is a good idea."

Jack pulled her hand back from the giant wooden door. Her head swiveled over so that her mismatched eyes (the same color as her brother's) could focus on his small face. "It'll be fine, Ru-Ru."

"Don't call me that!"

"Besides," she continued as if she hadn't heard him, "this is Fairy Tail."

Harumi was still frowning from the nickname. "I know. That's why it's a bad idea. They won the Games this year; it's too public."

"…This is because they're the guild biggest on friendship, isn't it?" Harumi turned away, pouting. "It'll be fine, Ru-ru. We should at least check it out to get out of the cold, and get something to eat. It's not like we'll be selling our souls, and their reputation is better this time."

For a moment, Harumi looked like he was going to give in, but it was a moment short-lived. "But, Jack, what if-!"

Her voice was quiet but stern when she interrupted. "Vii-vyr joh ayem, Ru-Ru."

The young boy seemed deflate. "..Fine."

Jack pushed the door open. A burst of hot air rushed over the duo, and Harumi was almost glad that they were at Fairy Tail. Then he and his sister had to dodge a flying chair, a shoe and a mug- one with hot liquid sloshing out- all in quick succession. Just as he was about to complain to Jack again, a woman with short white hair popped up in front of them, yelled, "Don't be shy!" and dragged them over to the bar, murmuring something about saving on the power bill as she slammed to door shut. Or, at least, Harumi thought she slammed it. He couldn't hear it over the sound of the building-wide brawl.

Another woman with white hair stood behind the bar, calmly polishing a glass while dodging and deflecting any projectiles coming from the dust cloud mere feet away. "Hello! Welcome to Fairy Tail." The woman slapped away the other shoe from the pair, face still sporting a serene smile. "Sorry you had to come in the middle of this- usually if we have guests, they try not to hit the bar. I'm-"

"Mirajane, right?" Jack interjected, she too was smiling, as if the either the fight or Mira's apology was amusing. Harumi realized, at that exact moment, that all grown-up girls were Crazy, with a capital "c," and decided not to say anything until he knew he was safe. "We watched the Games this year. Congrats, by the way. I go by Jack- it's short for something I'll never, ever call myself- and this is Harumi, my brother."

Mira set down her glass, side-stepped a plate, which promptly broke on the floor, and began to sweep up the shards of porcelain. "It's lovely to meet you both and thank you. Please, call me Mira."

Jack elbowed Harumi, and he nearly toppled off the barstool that the other woman had dropped him on. He glared at her before turning to smile, timidly, at Mira. Mirajane stared at him for a second before placing a mug of hot chocolate in front of him.

At that point, Harumi's smile turned into a nearly face-splitting grin. But he still waited for Jack's nod before starting to drink. "Thank you!" And there were even marshmallows floating in the beverage! Maybe Crazy wasn't too bad…

Mira waved away Jack's hand as the teen tried to pay for the drink, simply putting another in front of her. "It's on the house. So," the white-haired mage had to shove someone away from Harumi. "So, what can I help you with?"

"Well," Jack took a sip of her chocolate. "We've been looking for a guild for a while and-"

"You're looking to join? That's great!" Mira pulled out a thick book and plopped it down on the counter with a loud thud. Flipping it open, she moved to and empty page and shoved a quill into Jack's free hand. "Just sign here, both of you, nicknames are fine."

As Jack finished writing her name, the ink glowed and soaked into the parchment. The spot where she had written was blank, as if the quill had never touched it.

"Well that's odd." Mira frowned. She ignored the guild mark appearing on Jack's face.

Jack fixed a sheepish expression on her face. Harumi finally drained the mug and piped in, "It's because we were members afore," completely forgetting his earlier rule.

Mirajane turned to Jack, who stole her brother's hat and ruffled his limp purple curls. "That's what I was trying to say earlier. We came by two years ago, looking to join and actually signed up and everything. But I didn't think that it wasn't safe for the two of us, what with the fact that we were living in the guild at the time, and the debt collectors came after Ru-Ru…"

Jack stole a glance at the rest of the guild as the fighting finally settled down, aware of Mira's scrutiny. Harumi reached for her half-full mug and she gave it to him without a fuss. "Master Makao agreed. We traveled around for the past few years, doing odd jobs for money when we could, but…Fairy Tail has something that's missing elsewhere…"

Mira nodded, and pushed the thick tome towards Harumi. Her eyes were soft as she said, "I know what you mean."

Harumi wrote his name with surprisingly neat handwriting, for his age. And then the ink glowed and vanished, just like it did for Jack. The symbol appeared on his neck, barely visible under his scarf and hair.

"Welcome home." She gave Harumi some more hot chocolate.

The two girls smiled at each other, and Jack was about to say something when the doors slammed open and cold air swirled into the guild for the second time that morning.

"We made it back alive!" A man with pink hair and a white scarf stood in the doorway, laughing at something the muddy, miserable-looking blonde said. A blue cat flew in behind them. The guy immediately started another fight (bumping the count up to five in the last two hours, with the guy who was wearing only boxers) while the blonde trudged over to the bar and the cat ran off...somewhere.

Harumi saw the other white-haired lady shut the door. Then his stomach grumbled and his attention turned elsewhere. Jack and the blonde heaved a sigh at the same time. But while both Jack and the other two girls ignored it- Mira was saying something to Jack about sandwiches- Harumi stared at the lady, who had sat down on his right.

"Hello," he said.

"Mmph. Hmm mm mmm hmph," she muttered.

Harumi frowned. "It's rude to mutter at people."

She lifted her forehead from the bar, and Harumi's eyes widened.

* * *

Lucy was having a bad day.

Sure, it started off nice. She'd woken up to a working heater, and no unwelcomed bed warmers. She'd written a letter to each of her parents (writing to her father was new, and awkward, but she tried to do it when she had something she would have liked him to know) and managed an entire chapter for her new story. She'd even managed to eat some breakfast, take a hot bath and get dressed in something warm without her apartment cooling down like it usually did in the usual early winter mornings.

Then Natsu and Happy burst in through her window, tracking slush and mud over her bed, soaking her floor and grinning like mad men. (And they thought _she_ was crazy.) Natsu spoke so fast that she hadn't been able to _think_ to kick him, and the only thing she'd understood in his entire speech was "mission."

And then they tugged her out the window, getting her once clean and dry clothing wet as they landed in the slush on Strawberry Street.

And they'd left her window **_open_**.

So now her apartment was freezing.

On top of that, the sun had just barely risen. (For some reason, she'd been waking up earlier. And that reason had nothing to do with how she wouldn't have minded Natsu's company at night because she woke up freezing when he didn't come over during the cold season. Absolutely nothing. At all.)

Then Natsu had forced her to walk to the site of their mission because, "Trains are worse when the weather gets cool." _Cool_ , as if a _pleasant_ _breeze_ on a _hot_ day. When it had _snowed_ last night, and she didn't have the chance to grab a coat and " _nearly freezing_ " would have been more accurate.

The long and short of the mission: everything went okay. Until Natsu got carried away and destroyed something he shouldn't have, Happy started mouthing off, and Lucy was soaked. And then almost _singed_ when her partner attempted to dry her off and instead caught her scarf on fire and managed to make the mud crust onto her outfit.

Oh, and while they trekked back to Magnolia- _through the_ _slush_. Lucy was going to _kill_ someone when they got back- **_without_** the reward money, someone had mistaken her for a homeless person and tried to proposition her.

So, yeah. Let's repeat: Lucy was having a bad day.

But the time she actually made it to the guild, she was more depressed than angry, and couldn't feel most of her body. In fact, she was pretty sure she had ice in her boots…

She ambled over to the bar clumsily, ready to die just so she could be out of misery. And she'd said as much to Natsu before that idiot went and started a brawl.

In fact, she could even hear the angels beckoning to her. A cheerful, childish voice said, "Hello."

Lucy said, "Go away. I'm not dead yet."

And the voice, sounding louder- closer, actually- but still young scolded, "It's rude to mutter at people."

At that she had to lift her head from the bar and tell the voice off, because there was no way that someone coming to separate her spirit from her body could call her rude. But the words died as soon as Lucy saw the speaker.

His eyes- one icy blue and the other dark green- were wide, his mouth hung open and his cheeks were flushed. The speaker was a small child, perhaps seven years old, and he was easily as adorable as Plue, maybe more.

"Hello," she said, dumbfounded.

Apparently, the boy felt the same way, because he repeated, "Hello."

"I'm Lucy."

"Sissy calls me Harumi. You're really pretty." He frowned. "But you're sad. Why are you sad? Is it because you're covered in mud?"

And that snapped Lucy back to normal/cheerful. He was so cute! She giggled. "A little, but it's nice to meet you Harumi. You're sweet." Without thinking, she kicked away an errant table.

Harumi pulled a face, as if either her words or the table had offended him personally. Lucy figured it was the fact that furniture was flying everywhere; it had taken a while for her to get accustomed to it. "You're not allowed to be sad, Princess Lushy." That was so swee- Wait.

"Princess?" she parroted, brows raised. What was it about her that made him think of a princess? She was covered in mud, and he had just scolded her about manners a moment ago.

Harumi hopped down from his seat, ignoring the sandwich that Mira pushed towards him, and the looks on the girls' faces. He took off his gloves and held up a hand. A magic circle began to form as he said, " _Shilog, shid, flohm mio ryjugh t' jybii heel jot!_ "

Lucy had no idea what language that was, much less what he said, but she watched as a tiny egg with a golden, five-pointed star formed in his outstretched palm. "Here!" he chirped, holding it out to her.

The blonde got up from her seat to take the proffered object, as oblivious to the other two girls at the bar as Harumi was. "Thank you." She moved to put it in the pouch she hung her keys from, only for him to grab her hands.

"You're s'posed to make a wish on the seed!" he scowled. And then the child calmly dodged a flying pair of pants, and what looked like a hammer made of ice. It seemed he was already used to the general mayhem of guild brawls.

"Umm," Lucy stared at the egg, wondering if that was why there was a star on top, and why Harumi called it a seed. It was _obviously_ an egg. "Okay? I wish I had something dry and warm to put on…?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the shell cracked violently, and a seedling sprouted, flowered and withered in the space of a blink. In the object's place was a pink sweater-dress and a pair of black jeans.

Lucy gaped, looking between Harumi and the clothing. The boy stifled a yawn, but grinned at her. "Th-That was amazing! Wow, Harumi! Thank you!" She tried to hug (read: glomp) him, but he side-stepped and she fell.

"Sorry, Princess, but Sissy'll be mad if I'm covered in mud too…" He sounded so guilty. _Not_.

The blonde winced and rubbed her head. Following Harumi's gaze, she finally noticed Mira and Jack. "Don't sweat it." She got to her feet. "Hi. I'm Lucy." She held out her empty hand to the stranger.

Jack flicked her light purple hair from her face and shook hands with the other girl. Mira, meanwhile, cut up Harumi's grilled cheese sandwich so he could hold it properly. He thanked her and began eating as Mira went back to polishing glasses and sweeping away broken tableware.

"I'm Jack, the sister." Jack smiled. "I saw you introduce yourself to Ru-Ru. You must be pretty special if he likes you already. He never gives those things away, unless you give him food, like Mira over here."

Mira smiled at the mention, and Lucy looked slightly uncomfortable. "He's pretty amazing. I was just thinking of this outfit; it's what this," the celestial spirit mage gestured to the grungy disaster she was wearing, "looked like a few hours ago."

"Yeah, he is. It just tires him out a lot- he's got no stamina when it comes to magic."

"Oh." Now she felt bad about it. Lucy glanced at the clothes. "You know what? I think I'll go put this gift to use." She excused herself to go change, deftly weaving through the fracas known as Fairy Tail.

As soon as Jack lost sight of her, Mirajane remarked, "I can see why you felt like you needed to leave."

"Hmm?" Jack grabbed Harumi's full mug- hers really- and took a sip.

"With a power like that, the debt collectors would have definitely tried to take advantage of him. Although…" A fork went flying their way, and almost hit Mira's face as she paused to think. "If Harumi has no stamina, why doesn't he just make them work like lacrima, or other magic items? It would be easier that way…"

Jack met her gaze. "We've tried that. Only certain types of magic are compatible. For instance, I can't use one of his seeds, but someone with holder-type magic and a great deal of skill and stamina might be able to handle it. Otherwise the seeds break and- Well, it's not pretty…"

"Oh, I see."

"…You wouldn't happen to know where the request board was moved to, would you? Ru-Ru and I are getting kinda low on funds."

Mirajane smiled sympathetically and pointed the girl in the right direction. Harumi looked from his sandwich and frowned. Mira half expected him to hop down and go after his elder sister, but he just looked at her until she stopped in front of the board. And then he went back to his food, still frowning.

Obviously, he didn't like it when they were separated.

When Lucy came back from the bathroom, mud mostly gone (there was still some on the back of her head, but it wouldn't come off) and clothes changed, she plopped back onto her seat and ignored Gray as he was thrown her way. In his boxers, thankfully. He nodded a greeting at her before shouting, "You're dead, Squinty!"

She could just barely make out Natsu's, "Bring it, Snow Queen!"

She ignored him too. "Thanks again for the clothes, Harumi."

He nodded and handed her one of the quarters of his sandwich. And then they began chatting.

If Jack had been over there, she would have pinched herself. Harumi was never that generous with new people. He was hardly that generous with her, and she'd practically raised him. But Jack was over at the request board, and by the time she got back, she only got to watch as Harumi listened intently to whatever Lucy was saying. She sighed resignedly.

"What's wrong?" Mirajane really seemed to like being in the know.

"There's only one job over there that I can take."

"So take it, then."

Jack shook her head, watching the chaos around her. She winced as someone was elbowed in the diaphragm. "That's just it. I can't. Harumi wouldn't be able to come, and it's an overnight trip, maybe _three_ _days_ all together. I'll have to wait for something else. Do you think Master Ma-"

"I can stay with Princess Lushy!"

All three turned to look at the boy, Lucy included. Seeming to sense how rude that was, Harumi tacked on, "Can't I, Princess? Jack? I promise I'll be good."

Lucy paused to think on it for a moment; Jack paused to see if the world was ending. Mira merely reconsidered her earlier conclusion.

Her baby brother had never, ever, wanted to stay with someone other than her- their parents included. Especially after knowing them for all of fifteen minutes.

"Sure!" Lucy agreed. Clearly the two were quite charmed by each other. Sheepishly, the blonde turned to Jack. "If that's okay with you? I know I wouldn't want to trust someone I just met with this cute little guy."

"Hey! I'm not a pet!" the boy grumbled.

Then he, Lucy and Mira laughed. Jack's mouth lifted in a grudging smile. No choice then. She looked deep into Harumi's eyes. "…Okay. But if you have any trouble-"

"I know, Jack." They'd only been over it a hundred thousand and three times.

"And I'll share some of the reward with you, Lucy, and you, Mira. Make sure he eats properly, and don't let him stay up past ten- or stay in the bath until he prunes; he'll get sick. And…" Jack continued to list dos and don'ts for the other three until she walked out of the guild and into the late afternoon with her bag.

"Hmm. We should probably get going too, Harumi. That idiot made a mess when he dragged me out of my apartment earlier. It'll take a while to clean up and it's getting late."

Harumi zipped up his coat, put on his hat and gloves, and grabbed his bags. Then with a cheerful, "Bye, Miss Mira!" he let Lucy guide him to her apartment.

* * *

Posted: September 4, 2015

Words: Approx. 3,400


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

Natsu was on a mission.

Luce had left the guild yesterday afternoon without him. That, in and of itself, wasn't particularly significant; they tended to go their separate ways after a mission 'cause Luce wanted time to unwind- usually in the bath, or with a book- and she preferred to be alone for a bit. So it was fine that she left without him. It was also okay that she hadn't said goodbye. Erza had caught him and Gray fighting with each other, and they'd had to convince her that they were showing brotherly love by competing with each other. The redhead had instantly wanted in when she heard the word "competition" and things got so scary that Natsu hadn't even realized Luce was gone for a while.

What wasn't okay was the way Luce had locked her window so that he couldn't get into her apartment last night. Sure, Natsu was aware that she had a door, and that Luce wanted him to use it, not the window. But that door was guarded by her creepy, strict landlady, and after dealing with Erza, he was not risking that.

So he went to her window, like he usually did when he wanted to get in.

But it was locked, and there was a bell attached to the frame.

Luce never, for all her complaining, locked the window. It was one of the reasons why he went there so often. She never locked that window, so he had to check on her and sometimes stay the night. (And no, Mira, he wasn't being a weirdo like Luce. He just liked to sleep in her bed to keep her company and make sure she was warm and get away from Happy's snoring and sleep-talking sometimes. That and her mattress was so much more comfy than his hammock)

So he had to find out why the window had been locked last night.

And why there were two body-shaped lumps in her bed and a new scent leading up to her front door.

Natsu's scarf was wrapped around his head in such a way that only his eyes were showing. He leapt from shadow to shadow in a way that was surprising clandestine, compared to his normal style and destructive reputation, and given the snow that had finally decided to stick to the ground. He wasn't even leaving footprints behind in the snow, so the only way anyone would know where he was would be for them to be a dragonslayer.

And then:

"What are you doing?"

Happy floated a few feet to his left, in the middle of the street. People turned to look at the exceed. Thinking quickly, Natsu yanked his foster son into the dark alleyway. Although he was a block behind Lucy, he wasn't going to risk being seen.

(No, Lisanna, his sudden progress in his ninja skills did not mean he was actively following Lucy around without her knowing. And it wasn't "stalking" either. Sometimes he just liked to know if Lucy got where she was going safely, without freaking her out or getting "Lucy Kicked," which did actually hurt. He rarely did it anyway; only when they just got back from a long mission, or if he could smell that she'd been crying, or if she was hanging out with someone he'd never met before. Like last night. And right now…)

(He also decided not to think about why Mira and Lisanna seemed to be taking up residence where that little voice that used to tell him not to break stuff- before dying a horrible death- used to be.)

"Shh, Happy!" the pink-haired mage whispered.

"But what are we doing?" the blue, _talking_ and _flying_ , cat whispered back. They were still quite conspicuous.

Natsu paused for a brief moment, earlier rants to Lisanna and Mira coming to mind. Then he answered, quite seriously, "We're being ninja. Nin-nin."

"…So we're following Lucy and Harumi around?"

Natsu blinked, hands falling from their ridiculous pose. "You know 'im, Happy?" At this point, people on the main road, could hear their voices, and would have been quite concerned, had they not recognized them to be Fairy Tail wizards.

"Aye, sir!"

Natsu couldn't recall Happy leaving the guildhall yesterday, until they went to Lu- home to their place. "He was at the guild."

"Aye! Lucy's watching him until his sister gets back from her mission."

He was a kid? Harumi was a kid that Lucy was babysitting?

For a second, Natsu did most decidedly _not_ feel relief.

(No, Mira, he really _wasn't_ relieved. He'd never been _worried_ that Lucy had decided to get another partner in the first place. Huh? You never said anything about that? What were you even doing in Natsu's head anyway?)

Then he realized:

"She took a quest without me!" And he raced off to the guild, Happy flying fairly fast in order to keep up with him.

"Natsu-! It's just a babysitting job, and she's at the guild anyway!"

Natsu didn't hear the exceed as he jumped across a canal. Not that the words would've made a difference. Natsu and Luce were a team, partners- with Happy too, of course. And that meant they took every job together. Besides, he liked babysitting with Luce. They did it all the time for Alzack and Bisca, and he liked working with kids as much as they liked playing with him.

(No, Lisanna, it was not because he was just a big child.)

And Luce looked happy when they did jobs like that together. Being around children seemed so natural for her too, and he knew she'd be a great mother…

 _Wait._

Natsu paused in the middle of the road, sending the pedestrians into momentary chaos and causing Happy to crash into one. He didn't notice, too busy with his thoughts. Why didn't Luce tell him about the job request? She'd always come to ask him for help babysitting Asuka. Why hadn't she asked this time?

He paled as something occurred to him.

 _Is she still angry about yesterday?_

He hadn't meant to mess up her bed (it was way too cozy to do that on purpose), and he hadn't meant to destroy that statue, or get her covered in mud. He also hadn't meant to dry the gunk onto her and nearly set her hair on fire. He hadn't meant to let her leave before he could apologize (again, the whole thing with Erza and the threat of _that_ ).

 _But I haven't apologized yet._

What if Lucy never forgave him?

Natsu dragged his feet the rest of the way to the Fairy Tail building. And the snowmelt he left behind was completely accidental; his body temperature was fluctuating with his thoughts.

* * *

"That's so cool! I wanna meet them, too, Princess!"

Harumi and Lucy were at the guild again. This time they sat at one of the tables, rather than the bar. Levy sat across from them, proof reading the latest chapter of Lucy's new book.

"No problem." Lucy slid out of the booth, followed closely by the little boy. "Hey, Levy, we're going to be outside for a while."

Levy gave a vague noise, as if to say, "Have fun, you two." Or maybe it was, "Just a minute." She wasn't wearing her gale-force reading glasses, and whenever she read, she tended to be completely absorbed by literature, so it was likely that the small fairy hadn't even really heard what Lucy had said.

Taking no offense to the obvious lack of attention, Lucy just smiled and held Harumi's hand as she led him to the courtyard that housed the guild pool (well, pools if you counted Gajeel's latest death trap and that thing Natsu had made). Harumi's bright eyes looked around in awe. "This wasn't here last time."

"Last time?" Lucy questioned.

"Uh-huh. Sissy said we had to leave the guild two years ago, and I thought it would be scary coming back, but ev'rybody is really nice and I got to meet you, so…"

Lucy blushed, thinking, _When this kid grows up, he's going to be a heartbreaker without even knowing._

They came to a stop in front of the normal, water-filled pool. "Alright," Lucy announced. "Shall we get started?"

Harumi let go of her hand and started nodding so hard that he should have gotten whiplash- but he didn't.

"What's your star sign?" Though Harumi didn't know (he didn't seem to understand the concept, and he only said that he'd been born after the snow started melting- which meant he didn't know the day), Lucy smiled again. "Let's try some music then. Open, Gate of the Harp, Lyra!"

A woman with a silver harp appeared. She jumped up to give the other blonde a hug. "Lucy! It's been so long!"

Lucy laughed as Harumi glanced between the two girls, eyes wide. "We saw each other just last week, remember?"

"I know, it was so long ago!"

Lucy giggled. "Anyway, Lyra, I was wondering if you could play a song for my new friend."

"New friend?" Lyra released her contract-holder and looked down. She made eye contact with the boy. "Oh, hello there. I'm Lyra, what's your name?"

"…I'm Harumi. Where did you come from?"

"Harumi," Lucy said before Lyra could give a long and confusing explanation, "Lyra here is one of the people I told you about earlier."

"The ones from the celestial country?"

Lucy couldn't think of another way to explain the concept of different dimensions and alternate universes, so she'd opted for the word "country."

Lyra, understanding how the celestial mage's wind worked grinned widely and said, "Yep! Hey, how would you like to hear a song?"

Harumi nodded slowly. "You can sing?"

"And I play the harp too. Hmm…I think I'll pick one that you know pretty well." Lyra scrutinized the child for a moment before clearing her throat. "I think I'll do it in a language you both understand." She played a few notes, and then began to sing:

 _"Quiet, my love,_

 _"Close your wond'ring eyes…"_

The melody was soft, like a lullaby, but the emotion Lyra sang it in spoke of loss. Lucy was so enthralled by the singer that she failed to see tears building up in the boy's mismatched eyes.

 _"Let dre-eams take you to far off skies,_

 _"Where days are bright and stars shine at night._

 _"Hush now, love, and sleep._

 _"Quiet, my love_

 _"Breathe in deep…"_

Lyra trailed off and Lucy looked down at the boy, expecting him to be calmly nodding off- when Lyra sang cradlesongs, she tended to stop when the children present were asleep (if there was no danger). Harumi's tears were over flowing and his small boys shook with inaudible sobs. But he looked so angry…

"Harumi?" Lyra and Lucy both asked.

When he just shook his head and continued to cry, Lucy picked him up and rubbed his back. "Maybe we should stop here for the day."

Lyra stood. "That's probably best. Sorry, Harumi." The musician continued to apologize as her gate began to close. "It's so old, I thought it'd be harmless- If I had known that you understand what it's for…" The gate finished closing before she could finish.

Lucy looked Harumi, who'd buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Harumi…Wasn't that a lullaby?"

He nodded and pulled away, wriggling until she put him down. "Sissy sang it…when- when th-they…Sissy sang it for the- for the last sleep." He rubbed furiously at his face as the tears slowed.

 _Last sleep?_ Lucy's mouth made an "oh" shape and her eyes dimmed a little.

That song was a funeral march.

"Let's go get something to eat." Lucy wouldn't say, "I'm sorry," even though she felt she should, because she didn't understand the circumstances. But it seemed like Harumi understood, as he grabbed her hand and let her walk him back to their table. Mira came over with a sandwich for him and stew for Levy and Lucy, as well as three mugs of hot chocolate. Neither she nor Levy mentioned the heavy atmosphere. It was obvious that everyone in the building picked up on it though, since no one started a brawl.

The mood lightened as they ate and Levy occasionally commented on Lucy's story, but Lucy could tell Harumi was still upset.

When they were finished, Lucy suggested, "Why don't we go take a nap?"

Harumi didn't say yes, but as he didn't say no either, Lucy held his hand and they got ready to leave. Harumi slipped his arms into his coat and-

Suddenly the doors opened.

* * *

Jack sighed in relief as her train pulled into Magnolia station. She'd managed to get to the site, finish the job, and return in just over twenty-four hours. The botanists hadn't understood why- or how- she'd done the job so fast, but once they realized that the plants in their research field (which Jack thought was kind of stupid. _Who puts experimental plants out in the open like that, rather than in a greenhouse?_ ) were safe from the local pests and the dangerous monsters that said pests had attracted, she'd collected her reward and hightailed it back to Magnolia.

The teen stood, wincing as she pulled her bag down from the overhead storage rack. Her face was littered with small cuts, bruises and bites (which the scientists had assured would just itch for a while, not cause her to get horribly sick and then die) and her arms were similarly marred, and much more sore. At the moment she was wondering if the 50,000 J was really worth all the trouble. Sure, it was a lot of money for such a low-level job (please, ignore the aforementioned dangerous monsters), but the job had caused her to leave behind her brother with people she just met. Even though Ru-Ru was a better judge of character than her, Jack had worked while feeling somewhat frantic.

But she left the train and began to walk towards the guild, feeling the panic she'd been working through begin to fade.

This was the longest she'd been away from her brother in years.

Sure, they hadn't always been in the same room, or even the same building. But since the deaths of their parents, and later their sisters, they had never gone more than a few hundred feet from each other, never farther than the distance Harumi could run in sixty seconds.

She didn't like having been more than thirty-odd miles away for about as many hours as miles.

Jack tucked some of her chin-length lavender hair behind her ears and forced her tired legs through the snow. "At least he didn't have to use the-"

Before she could finish the egg-shaped pendant on her necklace cracked, and turned into a blue mist.

She ran.

That was the emergency signal. The signal reserved for only _one_ thing.

 _He's here._

 _I'll_ _ **kill**_ _him._

* * *

When Natsu woke up that morning, the only thing on his mind had been figuring out why Luce had locked her window.

When Happy told him about her quest and how she was doing an overnight babysitting job, he'd wanted to know why she hadn't told him.

When he decided to go to the guildhall and apologize (just in case she was mad at him- no, Mira he was _still_ not worried about her leaving him) he'd thought that maybe, just maybe, Luce would tell him that she'd just wanted the kid to get some sleep, and maybe complain about how he always made a mess of everything.

When he woke up that morning he was not expecting what happened.

As soon as Natsu opened the giant wooden double doors, he saw Lucy. She was helping a kid with a mop of curly hair with his coat. But he wasn't paying attention to the gentle way that she guided the boy's arms into his sleeves or the way that she zipped it up and began to carefully wrap a scarf around the boy's neck (and he ignored that thing in the back of his mind that was watching and said, "Yes, she would be the perfect Queen…"). No.

No, all Natsu noticed as that her smile was strained and she smelled like tears.

"…Luce?"

He hurried over to her, ignoring everything else. (Once again, Lasanna was responsible for the doors closing and trapping the warm air inside.)

Had it happened again? Had she been crying alone about some huge upset, like the time he sat outside her window not so long ago? And what had he been doing?

Playing ninja.

So he hurried over to her, intent on finding the source of her sorrow and beating it into submission- like he had with Phantom Lord and every subsequent pain since then.

And then, when he was six steps away, the kid moved in front of his partner. And then the boy said, "I won't let you hurt Princess Lushy!" And he was shaking like a leaf in the wind the whole time. Everyone who had looked away from the three of them had their eyes on them again.

Natsu instantly disliked the child.

Sure, Lucy had practically been a princess before she joined the guild. And sure, Natsu knew she deserved to be treated like royalty (though he didn't treat her that way himself). But Lucy was no princess. She wasn't some damsel on distress that needed a knight to come and rescue her. No, she was a Fairy Tail wizard who fought her own battles (but would always have someone to watch her back) and played as hard and as dirty as anyone. And _liked_ it. Lucy didn't need someone to keep her safe, and if she ever did, Natsu would be the one to do it. Not some little kid.

Apparently, Luce was thinking something along those lines.

She knelt down next to the child and said, "Harumi, this is Natsu, my partner."

Harumi looked at Lucy from the corner of his eye. "…He's the one who trashed your apartment?"

Natsu grimaced at that.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, but he didn't mean it, Harumi. And he'd never willingly hurt me. We're safe."

Natsu could feel his ire waning as Luce spoke. _She isn't mad?_ That was enough for him to ignore the kid's obvious distrust.

The kid shook his head, still not moving from his defensive stance. "But he's a–"

The doors fell off their hinges. A girl with lavender hair and wild, mismatched eyes stood in the gaping entryway. Cold air and snow swarmed in around her, chasing out the warmth the guild had had moments before. Her gaze alighted upon Harumi. She took in the way he stood protectively in front of Lucy, and the way his wary eyes were on the pink-haired teen.

Jack hissed, "Dragonslayer."

And then she launched herself at Natsu.

* * *

Posted On: 9/08/15

Words: Approx. 3,140

* * *

My thanks go to: Amethyst the Purple Dragon, for being the first reviewer. As you have reached a special number, you deserve brownie points. I'm not sure what they're for yet, but I'll think of something...


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu was, admittedly, an idiot sometimes. (If you were of Lucy's mindset, he was stupid any time he wasn't fighting or pulling a prank. Those were the times he just **_didn't care_** about collateral damage.) But at other times, he was brilliant. And that intelligence, though it was mostly used in battle or for general mischief, extended to his fellow mages- specifically, his family. (" _And especially Lucy_ ," the Mira that lived in his head reminded him. " _Which just proves how in l_ -")

Thus, he tried diplomacy first. No one else was reacting, and she had to be a guild member, what with the symbol on her face. So obviously, she was family right? A friend of Lucy's based on the faint scent lingering on her? He would try talking her down ('cause he really didn't need Luce mad at him). Even though the crazy lady had attacked and knocked the wind out of his lungs for no reason him for absolutely no reason.

Dodge a throat-strike, side-step a second blow, and then a third. "Hey-!" he began, only to narrowly avoid a punch, and then a kick.

What had he done to tick her off? He'd never even seen her before!

Though, on second sniff, she did smell kinda-sorta like that kid…

Okay, he'd give diplomacy one last shot.

"What," he tried again, "are y-!" And he was cut off again, head reeling back.

He could feel the blood leaking out, feel the pricks on his tongue where it escaped, taste it as it filled his mouth.

Diplomacy?

Useless crap.

Her skinny but powerful arm came at him again, a pale grey magic circle extending from it, but he swatted the magic away and decided to just end things.

"That's it," Natsu said. The words didn't come out right- too much blood- Why wasn't he clotting yet? Smaller wounds like these generally closed up by now. Some of it splattered onto the girl. And she ignored it, in the way that people who were too accustomed to violence and gore did; it didn't even seem to register. She just tried again, and was, again, cut off by his hand shooting out to hold her before she could actually land the blow.

"I'm all fired up!" Ticked off was more like it.

He could feel his blood beginning to boil in his veins. In the back of his mind, in a separate section from the residence of the Strauss sisters but quite close to the section where his draconic instincts lived, he realized that Luce was not going to be happy about this- probably wasn't even going to speak to him if he continued. But something about this girl- some scent stubbornly clinging to her, one that wasn't hers but that he couldn't place- screamed at him: "Get rid of her! Before the bigger threat comes!" If Natsu had placed the old scent that was just barely clinging to the girl and realized why it freaked him out, maybe, just maybe, he would have simply restrained her, rather than trying what he did next.

But whatever that scent was, it filled him with something he hadn't felt since Tenrou Island.

(And that was the biggest clue, right there. Later- much, much later, he would look back and wonder how he missed it.)

"Iron Fist of the-"

And then he was trapped inside of a giant egg.

"-Fire Dragon!"

He punched the shell, and it came shattering down around him. He heard a thud behind him. Hist fist kept going, but only just grazed his opponent.

"Harumi!" Luce.

"Ru-ru!" The strange girl rushed past him.

The pink-haired dragonslayer turned, arms aflame, ready to pull her back. (There was no way she was getting anywhere near his partner, not when she was obviously dangerous!) But he stopped short. The fire on his arms went out.

The kid was unconscious, and looked sick. As in used-too-much-magic sick. And the girls- the crazy one and his Luce- were holding him.

"What happened?" the purple-haired one demanded. Her eyes were wild again, no longer dead. Natsu moved to stand behind his partner.

"Jack," Luce said. Her voice contained the signs of barely restrained anger. "You know what happened. When Natsu broke out of that egg-"

And now Natsu was lost. What egg? Apparently, the rest of the guild felt the same way as him, because only he, Lucy, Mira, Levy and Jack were still paying any attention to this conversation.

"That wouldn't have done this. Did he give you something?"

Lucy held up her hand. She was holding a golden egg, about the size of her thumbnail. Jack huffed and lifted her brother, heading for the infirmary with Mira and Levy on her heels. Her posture was stiff, as if she could feel Natsu watching her.

(And he was watching her. Something about her raised the hair on the back of his neck, even when she wasn't openly displaying aggression towards him or Lucy.)

Lucy, too, tried to follow, but Natsu got in the way, standing directly in her path. "Luce, who was that?" His eyes were narrowed dangerously and his voice was deeper than usual, more gravelly, like he was still mad.

"Move, Natsu." If she wanted to get past, she would either have to wait for him to move, or walk over the tabletops. And she wasn't the type to step in someone's food. So the celestial spirit mage opted for getting her partner to move.

Natsu wasn't having it. "Lucy. Who was that?"

"Jack. A guild member," that the blonde was planning to wring some answers from, "who looks like she needs help with her baby brother." She shoved at him gently.

Although something akin to a growl caught in the back of his throat, he let her through, stalking behind her and stopping just outside the infirmary doors when she went in.

There was something wrong with him.

He could feel it.

Sure, his wounds were healing now (he still didn't know why it had taken so long), but he felt off.

He'd felt off since he met the kid that Lucy was watching, and he didn't know why. Natsu _did_ understand that he was experiencing a complicated swirl of emotions at that moment. He was angry and jealous and protective, irritated and felt a little depressed, all at the same time. To sum it up, he was confused. Very confused.

As Natsu kept one ear on the conversation taking place on the other side of the wall- listening out for a reason to be Luce's back-up, he decided to sort everything out. He was unaware of the fact that he was glaring at the wood beneath his feet, and generally acting like Gajeel on a bad day. He was also unaware of the worried glances being tossed his way, and that his body was taut as a bowstring.

Confused. No idea why he was acting the way he was, or feeling the way he felt. Duh. That was the definition of "confusion." Well, it probably had something to do with spending too much time around Lucy; she was a weirdo. Maybe it was catching? But Luce was both family and his partner, so of course he had to always be around her. He was 'sposed to look out for her. (No, Mira, it had to be a Lucy thing. Her weirdness was the only logical explanation; Mavis knows that Gray hadn't infected Natsu in all their years as guild-mates…)

Angry, irritated. That chick had attacked him out of nowhere, yelled at his partner, and Luce didn't seem to want to explain what was going on. Natsu flexed his hands. And the confusion didn't help. Again, simple. He couldn't claim to understand why he had tried to block her way earlier though- 'cause he'd never done that before, not like that. (Some corner of his mind was arguing back that his reaction had been perfectly valid; which only added to his aforementioned confusion.)

Protective. Obvious. Lucy was in there with some psycho- and Levy and Mira, too. As if to prove his point, the dragonslayer could hear shouting. He straightened up and turned around, hands fisted.

Before he could actually enter the infirmary, Levy burst out of the room.

"Levy, what-"

"It's fine, Natsu! Lu's okay, I just need to go to the library and check something." And she was down the stairs, around the corner and in the guild's library before he could reply. He pressed his ear to the wall, not quite believing her. Realizing that all was quiet in the room again, the pink-haired boy reluctantly resumed his former position, scowl deepening.

He didn't understand the last two things he was feeling. Jealous. Depressed. _Why would I feel…?_

" _Obviously_ ," said his resident Mirajane from her place inside his skull, " _it has something to do with Lucy_."

The voice didn't help beyond that, though he realized that it was telling the truth.

Meh. Probably a side effect of the weirdness, mixed with her accepting missions without him.

And, while he thought he managed to sort everything but his jealousy and depression, there was something that he had buried. Something that he wouldn't admit even to himself.

Jack winced as Mirajane pressed a cotton ball soaked in some antiseptic or the other to one of her wounds. The lavender-haired teen refused to look at the barkeeper even when Mira asked, "Now why would you go and attack Natsu like that?" There was a drawn out silence, during which Mira moved onto another scrape. The transformation mage was about to ask again when the girl on the bed finally responded.

"He's a **_dragonslayer_**." A hiss of pure, unadulterated anger.

To say that the amount of venom in Jack's voice surprised Mira was an understatement.

As if the child could sense the topic of the conversation, Harumi rolled over and frowned in his sleep. Levy, sitting at his side, opened her mouth, but someone else asked before she could.

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

Lucy.

Jack whipped her head around to face the blonde as Lucy shut the infirmary door. Mira would have called the expression on the other teen's face a glare, if it hadn't seemed so tired (and if she hadn't seen what looked like heartbreak swirling in the depths of those heterochromic eyes). Then the girl deflated.

There was a long, tense pause.

"…You guys," came a dismayed whisper. "You really don't know, do you?"

Lucy frowned at this. "What are you-?"

Jack began to laugh, a pitiful, slightly hysteric sound. "They ruin everything. Everything."

"Don't you dare talk about them that way!" Levy very nearly shouted, thinking of Gajeel. (Only "nearly," though, because she realized that the lump in the bed was a sleeping Harumi. Children needed their sleep.) Her cheeks turned pink. "Just because they don't always understand social norms-"

"It's worse when they do understand. Because they'll just do what they want anyway."

Levy's eyes narrowed. But where the other girl's statement riled Lucy up further, the bookworm went over the words and actions of the other girl. _What, exactly, does she-?_ Although she had forgiven Gajeel a long time ago, Levy still remembered his time in Phantom Lord. He had been dark then, malicious. And from what she knew about Sabretooth, and some of Laxus's past actions… Levy was beginning to think that maybe they (the guild) didn't know a lot about dragonslayers.

"That's still no reason to attack Natsu like that!" Lucy said, oblivious to the workings of her friend's mind. "You don't even know him."

"They're all the same!" Jack suddenly stood. Mira was forced to move away.

"You've met many of them then?"

"Enough to know that they're all just waiting for a chance to destroy everything you care about."

The blue-haired bookworm's eye's widened suddenly, and she had to excuse herself.

"Natsu isn't like that," Lucy denied.

Mira nodded, wondering if this conversation would effect her matchmaking bets, but understanding the sentiment behind Lucy's reasoning. "He's Fairy Tail; he's family."

Silence, again, broken only by a murmur from the sleeping child. Jack rested her hand on her brother's leg and he quieted. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she brushed them away. "I hope, for all our sakes, that that will be enough for him."

Jack picked up her younger brother, and then ventured out into the cold winter, away from the guild. She grabbed a month-long mission on the way out. He didn't stir, not even once.

Lucy followed her as far as the door, anger melting away as she watched Jack cling to her brother like a drowning woman to a life raft. _What happened for her to hate dragonslayers so much?_ Her grip tightened on the egg-shaped bauble Harumi had given her.

The child's words came back to her then: "So you don't end up like us, Princess," Harumi had said, just before pressing the golden egg into her hands and forming that barrier around her partner. What did he mean, exactly?

 _Who are they?_

Harumi woke up, briefly, near the train station.

"Shiizjil?" came his sleepy murmur. "Gi moz vel?"

"The station. We're leaving Magnolia, Ru-Ru."

He shifted in her hold, blinking up at her. "Gi vaj'o?"

"Use Fioran, Brother." There was silence for a moment as Jack sat down on a bench and moved her younger brother to her lap. She began to rock him back to sleep. "You were right, though. Going back was dumb."

"Mi-daid get ja. Gi moz-daid reft tez?"

"Fioran, Ru-Ru. Remember the rule? And no, we're still guild wizards. We're just taking… long missions from now on."

The young boy nodded slowly, snuggling closer to his sibling for warmth. "Do you," a yawn cut him off. He tried again, sleep already taking him. "You think he'll find us… if we spend lots… of time… here?"

Jack broke her rule then, as Harumi's breathing evened out and he began to snore. She whispered, "Mi get ii-vair. Ii-arvay ditikt moz."

She tightened her grip on her brother as her tearful eyes turned skyward.

2400 approximately


	4. Chapter 4

_It's finally happening_ , Lucy thought tearfully.

Deep down, she'd always known it was going to come to this. Being a Fairy Tail mage- especially working with the team she did- it was inevitable, though she'd done her best to avoid it.

But her efforts were truly in vain.

Mira shot the celestial mage a concerned look as Lucy banged her head into the counter for the third time in the past ten minutes. It went unnoticed, as Lucy was face down. The blonde's eyes teared up slightly, but not from the contact with the wooden surface.

Rent was due tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow.

 _I'm going to end up homeless!_

A gust of frigid wind wrapped around her as the guild doors opened. She lifted her head slightly, only to let it bang into the bar counter again.

Correction: she was going to end up homeless **_in the dead of winter_**.

"Lucy, is everything alright?" Mira asked. The barkeep set down the glass she had been polishing.

"Mm. Mm hmm-mm mm-"

 _"It's rude to mutter at people…"_

Lucy heaved a sigh and tilted her head slowly, replacing her forehead with her cheek. Three weeks and that duo still wouldn't leave her thoughts. She fingered the golden egg on the bracelet she wore. _"So you don't end up like us,"_ he'd said.

"Lucy?" Now Mirajane was really worried. Her friend normally spilled her guts when given a chance to complain. Then again, things hadn't been normal since…

"Huh?" Large, chocolate-colored eyes blinked as their owner straightened up. "Oh. Sorry, Mira." Lucy removed her hands from the charm. She sighed again, expression downcast as her earlier train of thought returned. "I don't know what to do about my rent!" she wailed.

Now it was Mira's turn to blink. _That's all?_ A sly grin spread across her face. The barkeep had an idea- a wonderful idea. "Have you thought about going on another job?"

Lucy's head made contact with the counter again. But her voice was clear as she said, "There aren't any solo missions that pay well enough, and Erza dragged N- the boys off last week remember?" A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold went down Luce's spine; apparently, this time of the season was "bonding time" (emergency training time) for Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, the guys of Shadow Gear and the Thunder Tribe. And there would be a fate **_worse_** than hell to pay if Erza didn't witness them getting along.

Lucy had been lucky enough not to be round when Erza had tried to recruit her. Thank goodness for Virgo.

"Well," the transformation mage began, "you could always stay with someone until winter's over?" Mira turned around to hide the grin that wouldn't leave. No one ever said she couldn't influence the betting. Actually, there was that one time that the Thunder Tribe had tried to, before Laxus started acting out, but Freed had sworn the guild to secrecy (used runes on the entire guild to silence them upon pain of death).

( _Good times_ , Mira thought fondly.)

Lucy just looked up at the other mage. "Who, Mira? Fairy Hills is full, your place has no room, I'd drown if I asked Gray- and I really don't feel like dying!"

"What about Natsu?" Cloyingly sweet.

"No." Cold. Flat. Emphatic, when compared to the impassioned way the blonde had been speaking a second ago.

Mira turned around with a frown on her face. "Are you and Natsu still not speaking?"

Countertop, you were well acquainted with Lucy's forehead, right? No? Okay, take another look. (At this rate, there'd be a Lucy-shaped dent…)

"He nearly razed my apartment building to the ground just before he left, remember? He's the reason why I can't make rent!" Sure, he'd supposedly meant well. But lighting a fire in the oven did not work the same as lighting one in a fireplace- especially since she **_had_** a fireplace! _Besides, he never cleans his house! I'd die of salmonella or something before nightfall!_

"Oh, I thought you wouldn't know where to find his place. Lisanna used to get lost all the time when she tried to visit." Luce's eyes widened. Mira could read minds?! That actually explained so very, very much. "It's not that surprising," Mira continued, "since he does live in the woods. And I'm sure the bacteria wouldn't get to you for at least a week."

"…Did I say that last part out loud?"

"Mm-hmm."

Huh. (Lucy was still hanging onto the mind-reading theory.)

There was relative silence for a moment. Then, "No. Still don't think it would be a good idea to stay at Natsu's."

"Why not?" Mira had to turn around again and find another glass to polish; the grin was back.

In truth, Natsu had been acting weird ever since- ever since those two had arrived. Or maybe a bit before that. But Lucy was hesitant to bring that up with Mira after the last time she'd brought up Natsu-related issues (and ended up seriously thinking that he was in love with her for, only to be proven wrong in a humiliating fashion). "Other than the fact that I can't ask if he's okay with it until after I get kicked out?" Erza had said something about being away for two weeks.

Mira hummed and set down the glass on the counter. She leaned towards the blonde and raised her hand as if sharing a great secret, whispering, "But he's your partner, isn't he?" Her face was dead serious.

Lucy pulled back. She eyed the other girl suspiciously; somehow, she felt like this was a trap. Carefully, she answered, "Yeah."

Mira wasn't deterred. "And he stays at your place all the time, right?"

"…Yes." Now, recalling a few earlier comments about this behavior, Lucy was certain this was a trap.

Mira suddenly grinned again. "Then he can't say anything about it. Doubly so, since he's the one who made you use up your rent money on repairs." She winked.

Lucy churned the idea over in her mind. Yes, this was probably still a trap. And yes, she was certain the bacteria in that disaster zone he called home would kill her (which Mirajane seemed to agree with her upon). But it was either that or end up on the streets in the dead of winter, and freeze to death… _Wait a second_.

A thought occurred to her. "Can't I just stay here at the guild?"

 _Why was I worrying so much about this? That's the perfect-_

"I suppose you could, but the infirmary's always full after a bonding trip with Erza. And we do have a reputation..."

"…For being the rowdiest guild." Lucy's head returned to the wood, which now had a slight indent. Mira was right; if she stayed at the guild, she'd never get any rest. She let out the sigh to end all sighs. "But what if I get snowed in over there?" she whined. "And it takes forever to get that place even moderately clean."

Mira patted the other mage's shoulder with what would have been sympathy, if not for the gleam in her eyes. "I'll make sure you have food just in case- Mavis knows he never keeps his place stocked up- but I sincerely doubt it will come to that." She hadn't known that Lucy had cleaned Natsu's house before; normally he made a big stink whenever someone touched his stuff. He even whined when Erza did it (though he wisely shut up when the redhead told him to). I'll have to change my bet.

The blonde let out another sigh. "Fine. It's not like I really have a choice anyway."

"That's the spirit."

Lucy left, promising to return soon. She just needed to do something first.

"That's not a problem," the landlady assured her. The woman was wearing a lovely red cardigan that Lucy could swear was from her own closet. The envelope of Jewels- less than half the amount owed for the month- was tucked into a pocket of said sweater. "But I can't let you stay there until you can pay the rest, dear." The endearment sent a shiver down the blonde's spine, but she forced a smile.

"I understand." This was, after all, the third time they'd had to have this conversation since her return from Tenrou Island.

At least she didn't have to worry about someone else moving in or her stuff getting tossed out.

"..be gone?"

"Huh?" Lucy blinked.

Her landlady gave her a strained smile. "It's just that the last time you said you'd be away, you vanished for seven years."

The celestial spirit mage made sure her grin was firmly in place when she answered. "It should only be a couple of weeks." That was enough time to for the others to get back, heal up from Erza's tough love and take a job, wasn't it?

In hindsight, she was beginning to wonder if she should have haggled for a rent-to-own situation.

"Alright then."

Lucy thanked the woman, and was about to leave, when the landlady said, "You'll tell that young man of yours about our agreement, yes?"

"…You mean Nastu?" The lady nodded at her, eyes narrowed. There was no love lost between the two of them; nearly burning down someone's property more than several times did stuff like that. Lucy gave an awkward laugh. "That shouldn't be a problem. Honest," she added when the expression on the other woman's face remained cloudy. Though her landlady's face was still thunderous, Lucy received a nod. She thanked her a second time, and then went to pack.

Just before she shut her door for what would be the last time for at least a week, Lucy remembered what her landlady had said about Natsu.

She hurried over to her bed, locked the window and shut the curtains. "That should do it." After two years (if one didn't count the Tenrou incident), she had finally managed to drum one thing about privacy into her partner's head: Natsu was not, under any circumstances, to enter her room if the window was locked. That didn't mean he always listened- but he was somewhat conscious of her inability to stand the cold, and seemed to make an effort to barge in through the window less during winter.

Lucy glanced around a second time, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. After a moment's hesitation, she grabbed her comforter and rolled it up to fit in the crook of her arm.

Then she left.

After returning to the guild and grabbing the promised supplies from Mira (which turned out to mostly be jerky and powdered soup), the blonde trekked through the slush and broke into Natsu's cottage. Though she wasn't sure it counted as breaking and entering, since his door was unlocked.

It wasn't quite as messy as the last time she'd been there, but it was still a mess.

She sighed, which turned to coughing as dust entered her lungs. "Well," she said, placing a hand over her nose and dragging her stuff over to Natsu's hammock, "I guess I should get started."

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!" Natsu could remember few circumstances in which he'd been this grateful to shout those words and hear the answering, "Welcome back!" Bonding with Erza- being used as a punching bag over her frustrations with Jellal- for nearly three weeks, while being unable to so much as look cross-eyed at Gray, was too much.

(The Strauss sisters of his mind piped up, "Not to mention being away from-"

 _The guild?_ They glared at him, but he was too tired to care.)

He felt utterly drained, and collapsed into the first open seat he came across. But his dark eyes looked around.

Happy, Gray, the Thunder Tribe, and Jet and Droy (who Erza felt had needed the training) followed his lead. Happy was asleep before he landed on the table.

Erza simply walked in, smiling, and hopped up onto a barstool, asking Mira for cake. Lisanna made sure the doors were shut tight, wincing as she took in the sight of snow melting on the wooden floor.

A frown settled on the rosette's face when his gaze couldn't find what he was searching for. He sat up straight, inhaling deeply. His frown deepened. Natsu walked over to the bar, heart thumping. "Oi, Mira. Where's Luce?"

The white-haired woman gave him a rueful smile. "I haven't seen her in a couple of days."

The words set off alarms in his head. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"Tuesday?" Mira gave a shrug that, had he been paying more attention or been less, he would have recognized as uncharacteristic. As a part of her usual schemes. "She…"

Natsu tuned her out. _Tuesday? That was almost a week ago!_

"I'm gonna go," he barely managed to murmur from behind clenched teeth.

"Natsu?" The door swung shut behind him before the transformation mage even formed his name. "He didn't even stay to hear the news."

Erza's eyes snapped to her. "What news?"

It wasn't that he was worried, he told his brain's newest residents. He just needed to…

The thought of Lucy, stuck inside because of snow, slowly turning blue from cold as her stomach growled nearly made him trip.

 _Okay, fine_ , he snapped at them, racing over the rooftops. _I'm worried_. For some reason, this made the pale-haired sisters smile. But the scowl he wore was etched deeply into his face.

Luce had a habit of isolating herself when she was starting to feel down. And that would have been his assumption ('cause she'd done it before), if not for the fact that she had been worried about being snowed in. He would have gone looking for her anyway, of course.

But now he had reason to fear for her wellbeing.

He spotted the apartment on Strawberry Street and hopped across the street. Quickly, he dropped from the eaves to hang in front of her window, only momentarily confused by the sight of the curtains being drawn during the day. "Must have closed them to keep warm."

He had warned her that putting her bed next to the window wasn't a good idea.

One tanned hand reached out to pull up the window and he-

He found that it wouldn't move.

"Luce?" He knocked on the sill, growing panicked when he didn't hear any noise from within.

He wrenched the window upwards with enough force to yank the lock from its bolts. And then he ripped the curtains apart.

He froze.

The room was empty. Yes, there was furniture, but the little traces of Lucy were missing; the chest that held letters to her parents was gone; her still unfinished novel wasn't on the desk; her warm pink comforter was gone; her wardrobe was empty. Most worrying: Lucy was gone. He inhaled deeply, trying to see if his eyes were feeding him the wrong information.

But no.

Lucy's scent was old. At least several days had passed since she'd been there.

 _And Mira hasn't seen her since Tuesday._

He dropped down to the snow covered street, pulling the window shut as he fell. Anything could have happened since then. She could have gotten lost in yesterday's snow storm. She could have been taken-

She could have been taken. Luce had been kidnapped more often than he liked to think about. That he hadn't seen or smelled a struggle didn't mean she hadn't been dragged away.

He swore, hands igniting, snow evaporating around him. "I knew I should have brought her with us."

Mira had realized Natsu was upset about Lucy. The first few times she had let Lisanna out of her sight after finding her again, she had nearly had a panic attack. So, knowing that Natsu was deeply, passionately in love with his partner and that her guild members tended to be a bit… extreme, Mira had known that he would panic a little.

She did not expect him to come bursting through the guild doors less than a half hour after he'd left, eyes wild and body steaming. He stalked up to the counter, and Mira thought she saw a hint of scales on his neck- and not the white ones on his scarf.

(Lisanna would have shut the doors- or persuaded Bickslow, the only one from the group of returnees who'd stayed, to do it for her- to prevent snow from swirling in on the breeze. But the courtyard was strangely devoid of snow, and the guild was just a tiny bit too toasty for her liking.)

Natsu's voice was gravelly when he spoke. "She's not here." Smoke tumbled from his mouth as the words came out.

Wakaba snorted from his position over at one of the tables. "Of course she's not. Like Mira said, L-"

"She's not in Magnolia." He acted as if he hadn't heard the man speak. His eyes- normally a deep pool of obsidian- were a burning pale green that kept themselves trained on Mira. His gaze was one of a predator being kept from its prey.

For a moment, Mira was tempted, very, very tempted, to use her Demon Soul form. But instead, she fought down the feeling and said, "I tried to tell you earlier, Natsu. Lucy…"

Somehow his gaze became more intense. It made her pause, remember something. "She was evicted."

"What?" he nearly hissed.

"Mm-hmm. She said she couldn't make rent, so I helped her find somewhere to stay and made sure she'd have some food in case she got snowed in."

"Oh." Natsu seemed to deflate. The weight in his chest certainly had. "Oh. For a moment…"

"Yes?"

He wouldn't say. "Where is it?"

Mira blinked. Took in his appearance with a fond smile. "You might want to head home and change fir-"

"No."

"You'll give her a heart attack if you show up like that."

Natsu grumbled but accepted her reasoning. "But I'm coming right back," he warned on his way out.

Lisanna shut the door behind him, as the guild's temperature had finally started to cool down. She then went over to the bar. "You know, the only times I've ever seen him like that usually involve Lucy."

Mirajane hummed in reply, the memory from earlier still fresh in her mind.

 _"You guys… You really don't know, do you?"_

"Maybe we don't," she said softly.

"Sis? Did you say something?"

"No," Mira said with a thoughtful expression. _I'm sure it's nothing._

 _"I hope, for all our sakes..."_

She shivered.

Word Count: Approx. 3100


End file.
